{"id":608542,"date":"2026-05-28T13:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/608542\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T13:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:39:11","slug":"prince-harry-and-meghans-2-4m-refurbishment-of-former-home-frogmore-cottage-could-be-axed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/608542\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Harry and Meghan\u2019s \u00a32.4m refurbishment of former home Frogmore Cottage could be axed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>The extensive renovation of Frogmore Cottage<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/life-style\/royal-family\/harry-and-meghan-markle-frogmore-cottage-b2366190.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s former UK residence,<\/a> could be reversed under plans reportedly being explored. <\/p>\n<p>The Grade II-listed property, nestled within Windsor Castle\u2019s Home Park, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/frogmore-cottage-meghan-archie-elizabeth-ii-duke-of-york-b2584782.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">underwent a significant \u00a32.4 million overhaul in 2018. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>This costly project converted five separate residential units into a single family home for Harry and Meghan. However, the couple resided there for only around 10 months before moving to the US, leaving the cottage vacant.<\/p>\n<p>The Sun reports that assessments are underway to determine if the property could be subdivided again, among a range of options. <\/p>\n<p>It is understood that no decisions have been made and no building work started, with the exploration aiming to ensure future occupancy. <\/p>\n<p>One option is splitting the cottage back into separate homes. The Duke and Duchess <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/life-style\/royal-family\/harry-and-meghan-eviction-frogmore-cottage-b2292560.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">were asked to vacate their sole UK base in 2023<\/a>, just weeks after the duke\u2019s damning memoir Spare was released.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/960080914...jpeg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The Duke and Duchess were asked to vacate their sole UK base in 2023, just weeks after the duke\u2019s damning memoir Spare was released\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>The Duke and Duchess were asked to vacate their sole UK base in 2023, just weeks after the duke\u2019s damning memoir Spare was released (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n<p>The decision was interpreted as a major rebuke by the King to his youngest son, who since moving to North America in 2020 has lambasted the monarchy, alleging racism and a lack of support.<\/p>\n<p>Harry and Meghan later repaid \u00a32.4 million to cover the cottage\u2019s refurbishment and rental \u2013 the cost of which had originally fallen to the Sovereign Grant, which is met from public funds in exchange for the King\u2019s surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018\/19, royal accounts outlined the work at Frogmore, saying: \u201cThe scheme consisted of the reconfiguration and full refurbishment of five residential units in poor condition to create the official residence for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The late Queen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/elizabeth-ii\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elizabeth II<\/a> had gifted the property, managed by the Royal Household, for use by the Sussexes after their wedding.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b93d2c5fd1f1ed01ce124647003e49ecY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgwMDQ3ODE0-2.49567680.jpg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Harry and Meghan later repaid \u00a32.4 million to cover the cottage\u2019s refurbishment and rental\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Harry and Meghan later repaid \u00a32.4 million to cover the cottage\u2019s refurbishment and rental<\/p>\n<p>After moving there ahead of the birth of Prince <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/archie\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Archie<\/a>, Harry and Meghan relocated to California, only using the property a handful of times afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>Frogmore Cottage was later offered to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/prince-andrew-royal-lodge-move-frogmore-cottage-rent-adelaide-b2852806.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a> as part of the bid to remove him from the Crown Estate\u2019s Royal Lodge mansion, but he turned down the offer and now lives on the King\u2019s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-608542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}